


Rescued

by nobodyzhuman



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Conflicted Character, Drama, Gay Romance, M/M, Magic, Multi, Pack, Pack Bonding, Polyamory, Shifters, Slash, Slow Build, Violence, Wolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2019-06-25 03:51:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15631776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobodyzhuman/pseuds/nobodyzhuman
Summary: Charlie ran away from home years ago. He had no intention of being what his father had planned and in doing so he turned his back on not only who he was but what he was.Now years later, he saves a little girl. One just like him and he is forced to choose between returning to the world he turned his back on or running.This story is complete.I'm only posting the first few chapters in hopes of gain attention and getting people interested, I've been told its a good way to get people to look for my book once it's published.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is complete. 
> 
> I'm only posting the first few chapters in hopes of gain attention and getting people interested, I've been told its a good way to get people to look for my book once it's published. 
> 
> For updates you can find me on tumblr (Nobodyzhuman) and twitter (ca_human) Please check me out and remember comments are awesome!! Thank you.

Something wasn’t right; the sound of the rain hitting the ground around him should have been soothing and helping him relax. Instead he felt on edge and he wasn’t the only one his wolf was pacing inside his head, pushing against his mind. Telling him danger, problem was no matter how many times he looked around; he couldn’t spot what had them both on edge.  

He had lived in this town about 7 months and he had his routine, tonight he had messed it all up. His boss offered over time and being short on money he took it. Breaking his one of his rules, he was strict about his rules because he already knew the area and people and knew that if wouldn’t come across any other wolfs during his everyday move moments. 

He sighed and turned to scan the area again.

Maybe that was what was bothering him, the change, maybe he was being paranoid. 

After all, it was just after midnight and he was sitting alone at an empty bus stop. Totally cliché horror movie opening, he laughed a little, imagine the wolf being the victim in a bad horror movie.

Being on edge was casing his wolf to push forward. It wanted to sniff and check the area; it needed to know it was safe. Working double time had been a bad idea, now he was exhausted and his control was slipping, he knew if anyone could see his eyes right now they would have a slight glow of yellow as his wolf enhanced his eyes to see better in the dark. 

He relaxed a little when he saw the bus coming down the street, one red light left and he would be off this creepy ass bus stop. He stood up. 

Just as the light turned green he heard a whimper from across the street. His head snapped away from the oncoming bus towards that sound. He knew a scared shifter when he heard one. 

It was stupid he knew, he should just ignore it and get on his bus and get as far away as he could. But he couldn’t; not if someone was hurt. 

He cursed and darted across the street. 

Whoever it was, was hurt and trying their hardest to remain hidden. He was afraid to call out to them in case whoever hurt them was still around. He stayed in the shadows’ letting his wolf guide him. It didn’t take him long to find a small bundle hiding behind a dumpster. 

“Hello?” He whispered slowly lowering himself to the ground, by placing himself on his knees he was showing he wasn’t a threat. 

The small bundle, he had thought was someone in their animal form, turned out to be a scared little girl.

His breath caught as her smell hit him, omega and hurt. 

She tried to back away from him, but the dumpster blocked her. 

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” He held up his hands and scooted back giving her a little more space.  He felt his stomach roll, her eyes were bloodshot probably from crying and she was shaking. He couldn’t see where she was hurt but there was no mistaking the smell coming off her. 

All his instincts were telling him to help her. To rush to her and hold her, stop her from shaking. But he knew that would just scare her more, so he shoved them all down. He looked at the terrified girl and made up his mind. 

Slowly he brought his wrist to his mouth and licked at his wrist; then slowly took his shirt and rubbed at his skin. It took a couple tries but slowly his scent blockers washed away, and he knew when his scent reached the girl because she tilted her head and her eye’s widened. 

“My name is Charlie,” he said as she studied him. 

“You’re like me?” She asked slowly reaching for his wrist. He let the child grab ahold and pulling him towards her. Once she seemed satisfied that it was really his scent she jumped to her feet and rushed into his arms, sobbing into his chest.

He tightened his arms around her, omegas craved being touched. He knew that being held would comfort her and if he was being honest, it had been some long since he had been around one of his own; it comforted him a little too. 

“When need to get out of here, okay?” The small head against his chest just nodded and he pushed himself to his feet and looked around. It was after midnight; no more buses would be coming till morning.    
He shifted her around in his arms until he had her in a spot where they were both comfortable and started walking, without the bus it would take him a half hour to reach his small apartment. 

By the time he reached his door both his arm and the young girl were asleep. It took some work but he got his door open and his lights on. He carefully placed her on his couch and rushed into his room to find something dry to give her to change into. 

Not that he really had anything for a kid, but he grabbed a couple shirts and a pair of his pajamas, he figured he could cut them into something smaller, and a pair of his shorts, leaving her a few options.   
Setting them on the coffee table, he left the room again to find extra blankets so once she was changed and he had looked her over, she could go back to sleep. 

Once he was happy that he had everything he might need, he shook her awake. She grunted and tried borrowing into his cushions. It would have been adorable if he wasn’t worried about her. 

“Hey, you gotta wake up, just for few minutes okay.” He tried to keep his voice low and shook her again. 

This time she rolled over and looked at him, he could see she was confused as her eyes quickly shot around the room. Then her whole body sagged and he knew she remembered what was going on. 

“I got you some clothes, so you can change. I’ll wash yours and you can have them back when they are dry, there…” He said pointing to his small bathroom. “…is a place you can change. There is shampoo and soap if you want to take a shower.” The little girl just nodded. But she didn’t move from the couch.

“Are you hurt?” The smell from before had faded, so whatever was causing her pain had probably already healed or started to. She lowered her head and shook it. 

“Hey what is your name? And…” Charlie hesitated; he was hiding from his own family. Could that have been the ones who hurt her?  He swallowed around the lump in his throat and prayed that her parents weren’t as fucked up as his, “Is there someone I can call?”  

Now the girl was staring at him, she seemed unsure. He understood, he really did, but he had no idea what do to with her. Normally he would take her to the nearest pack or to a wolf he trusted but he didn’t know any wolves he spent the better part of his life avoiding them. And he wasn’t even sure if there was a pact near here.  He had picked the city because it was less likely to have wolves. 

She didn’t answer him, just picked up the clothes and ran into the bathroom.

Once she closed the door he let his head drop, he was so tired and confused. He would have to call into work tomorrow for a sick day, even though he couldn’t afford it. He had no idea what to do with the girl but he knew she couldn’t stay with him, it wouldn’t take long for people to start asking questions and he didn’t need to end up in jail for kidnapping. 

He heard his shower turn on and sighed. 

She would stay tonight and in the morning hopefully he could get some information out of her. 

It didn’t take long for him to cover his couch in spare blankets and pillows. Once her bed was made, he went into the kitchen and made a couple sandwiches. He made sure to put an apple and chips on her plate and placed in the table in front of the couch. 

Then, it was his turn to get out of wet clothes. 


	2. Chapter 2

He watched as a few members of his pack argued. They had been at it for several hours and his wolf was started to feel irritated, it didn’t like that none of them where asking how he wanted to handle this. His wolf felt that his pack was being disrespectful, while he was just annoyed that they were bickering like children and not offering any real good ideas. 

He had called this meeting, the first pack meeting in over two years because of rouge shifters. They knew little about them, other than that they kept trying to push their way into his territory. It had happened more and more frequently over the last couple weeks. 

Most of the attempts had been in the town, were few of his pack are living. While it wasn’t heavily watched or guarded, as the lands the pack house was on, it was still their territory. His pack had done a good job at scaring the outsiders off, but it seemed not to last as more kept coming. 

The intruders were causing his pack to get anxious; they didn’t like that someone was threatening their home and neither did he. The Alpha in him wanted to fight back, protect his home and pack, but the human in him knew they had to work out an action plan. So, he called a pack meeting. 

Zach hated meetings, they only came around when there was something that needed to be planned or talked about, and he preferred action. He was a strong Alpha and a good leader but being diplomatic wasn’t his forte. 

He wondered if it was his fault that other wolves were testing them. His pack hadn’t faced a threat in years; maybe they had let the peace lure them into a false sense of safety. 

His wolf wanted to rip someone’s throat out; it wanted blood of the ones that threated its family.

There was a growl from his second, Matthew, causing the one that had been arguing with him to lower his head in submission, “We should stop with the scare tasks and actually punish these trespassers.” 

He wanted to agree, he normally did agree with Matt. The man was smart and loyal, traits that made it easy for him to be next in charge. But this time he had his doubts, he didn’t want to start a war with another pack until he had all the information, something about the way they were coming in one or two at a time instead of big groups was bothering him. It seemed like they were being tested.   
Watching them argue, he was about to put the meeting to an end for the night, when his office door burst open, slamming into his wall. The sound vibrated through the room. 

Zach felt his wolf raise its hackles, and a growl escaped his throat, before he even processed who had interrupted the meeting.  Both him and his wolf, stopped when they saw Jason leaning against the open door. The young wolf was pale and shaking, he seemed to be trying to talk but he was out of breath and his teeth had started to change. A sign his wolf was fighting to take control.   
When smell of copper reached his nose, Zachary to run to his nephew, he heard his pack around him all moving around, some looking out the window and door, trying to find the threat. 

“Jay, what happened?” He tried to remain calm but his wolf was worried about his kin.

“Emily.” The young wolf stuttered out. 

Zach’s heart stopped.  He looked at Matthew and back at the door, his second understanding ran out of the room looking for his niece.  

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” The younger man was freaking out, and his panic was coming off in waves. 

He wrapped his hand around his nephew’s neck, squeezing. The reaction was immediate the other wolf submitted, leaning into his touch. 

Unfortunately, while his nephew’s wolf was starting to relax, Jay’s human said was still freaking out. 

 “Calm.”  Jay’s body went lax, under the command of his Alpha, his nephew finally released all his tension and let all of his weight rest against Zach. When the young man was back in control he started telling what happened. 

“We went shopping, I knew should have waited, but she was really excited and I caved. We were at a dress shop, when I caught the smell….” He took a breath, “wolves, not pack.” His nephew was trying to stay control. Zach could make out the yellow in eyes, his wolf was pissed. 

“We snuck out the back, but they found us. I hide her and took her jacket to lead them away. Uncle Zach, I went back and she was gone.”  He squeezed Jay’s neck to reassure him and pushed to his feet, his hand never leaving the younger man’s neck. 

 “Sam take everyone you can and have them spread out, Find her!”  The room quickly emptied, all that remained was him and Jay. He let his hand fall away, and moved toward his desk, turning on his desk lamp to get a better look at the young man.  Jay was now standing and Zach motioned for him to come stand before him, so he could look over his nephew’s body. The smell of his blood was barley in the air; the small cuts he could make out on his arms were already healing. 

“Are you injured?”  Jay shook his head no. 

“Can I help look for her?” Jay asked looking at the door. 

“No. You will stay here and rest.” A wave of guilt filled the air. He brushed his hands down his nephew’s arms, “This not because you did something wrong, I’m worried about you. I want you safe.” He knew the younger man didn’t believe him, but he would worry about that later. Right now, he needed to go out and try to find his niece. 

Hours later, he was close to snapping. They had found where she had been hiding and her scent was heavy with fear and pain, but somehow it disappeared when they tried to follow where she went. 

He could feel his packs worry, right alone with his own. She was young and an omega. If the rouges took her, he didn’t want to imagine what could happen to her. But he knew that he was going to kill whoever took her. 

At some point Matthew calming scent washed over him causing him to take a few deep breaths. Once he was calmer, he felt just how exhausted he was. It took a few more minutes of breathing in Matt’s scent before his second could convince him to go home and rest. 

He had just walked in his front door, when his phone rang. His blood boiled. The only people that had this number where pack, and since his pack was all out looking for Emily, he knew none of them were calling. If she had been found the fastest way to tell him was through the pack link. 

He reached out and answered the phone.


	3. Chapter 3

  
Charlie wasn’t sure what time he fell asleep, but the smell of bacon woke up him up in the morning. He groaned and sat up. He had passed out in his recliner in the front room. He looked around, the blankets on the couch where all folded and placed nicely on one cushion, the plates from the night before where missing and the room had been tidied up. 

He followed his nose into the kitchen and just stopped. The counter had plates with eggs, pancakes and bacon. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a real breakfast. He left his family when he was still in his teens, and he never got close to anyone after that and he avoided settling down anywhere. He hadn’t wanted to get comfortable or attached in case he had to leave fast.   
The food in front of him made his mouth water. He knew the stuff was only in the fridge because one of his neighbors, an elder lady insisted he needed to eat more kept buying too much when she went to the store, and since she had extra he might as well have it. She was so nice and insistent about it, he didn’t have the heart to tell her he couldn’t cook. He normally donated the food and at shelter on his way to work. 

The small girl had been busy this morning and somehow, he had slept through it. He watched as she moved around the kitchen, she looked older. She had changed back into her clothes. He had made sure to wash them before passing out, her hair was in a ponytail and she was humming as she moved around the kitchen.   
It didn’t take her long to notice she wasn’t alone in the room; she quickly spotted him and froze. Her scent showed she was scared and nervous. Like someone who had been caught doing something they weren’t allowed. 

He smiled, “You didn’t have to cook.”

She relaxed and smiled back, “I wanted too.” 

‘Well at least she’s talking this morning,’ he thought as he sat in one of the cheap stools he owned.

“Do you need help?” Praying she didn’t, he was horrible in the kitchen. 

She shook her head, “I’m almost done.” 

He waited until she turned off the stove and placed food on plates for them. He picked them up and carried them to his living room, setting hers in front of the couch and taking his to the same chair he had slept in. They ate in silence. 

He didn’t want to push her or scare her but he couldn’t just not try to figure out what was going on. 

“Can you tell me what happened?”  He tried when it seemed she was done eating.

“We were attacked.” She told her plate. 

“We?” Panic over came him, had he left someone else hurt in the dark. He hadn’t heard or smelt anyone else.

“Me and Jay.” She started crying, “It was my fault, I wanted to go shopping for my dance coming up at school, Jay said we should wait until we had someone else to go with us,” She took a deep breath, “But I wouldn’t wait, I didn’t want all the good dresses taken, so I kept bugging him until he said okay.” She put her plate down and used the bottom of his shirt to wipe away her tears. 

“I didn’t know.” She looked at him her eyes pleading that it wasn’t her fault.  “I just presented, I didn’t understand that it would be different now. I didn’t know why he was scared.” Then she was sobbing.  A part of him was grateful, if this was random then her family, her pack was safe to call. Well safe for her, not sure it was safe for him. 

He rushed to his feet and pulled her into a hug. At least now he had an idea of her age, most kids present around 10-13 years old. 

“Was he by the dumpster with you?” He asked pulling them both on to the couch. 

She shook her head, and the guilt feeling in his stomach loosened. 

“He took my jacked and led them away.” Her voice sounded so small, and it hurt him that he had no idea how to make it better. 

“Okay,” He pushed her face up, “So he protected you, he probably thought you would ran home.” He hopped, “Is there a number I can call to find out if he is there?”   
It seemed he finally gained her trust because she rattled off a number and told him to call her Uncle Zach.

“Okay, stay here I’ll call him.” His stomach was in knots as he stared at his phone. 

As he dialed the number he thought he was going to be sick, what the hell was he thinking? This could be the end everything for him, all it took was one wrong shifter and he was back at his dad’s feet pleading for his freedom. 

The phone rang, and he almost hung up. But looking at the little girl he knew he couldn’t.

“Hello?” It felt like someone had poured fire right into his veins; ‘fuck’ he knew an alpha’s voice when he heard it and it took everything he had not to let out a whimper. 

“Is this Zach?” He tried to keep his voice even.

“If you hurt her I’ll kill you!” Panic followed through him, “What?” he squeaked out. 

“Emily, my niece, the only reason someone would call this number is if they had her.” The anger in the man’s voice caused his knees to give out. He reached out and caught himself on the back of the couch.

“No… No… I… found her.” He stuttered trying to calm his wolf, which was trying to submit to the wolf that wasn’t even in the room. ‘This man is powerful,’ he thought, almost in panic. 

“What?” This time some of the anger was gone. 

“I found her, she was hiding, I don’t know what happened. But she gave me this number and said to call her uncle. I swear I would never hurt a kid.” The panic in his voice must have caught the Alpha’s attention because the man made a soothing sound, probably not even aware he was doing it.

It worked, Charlie’s wolf slowly relaxed and so did he. 

“Where are you?” The man asked.

“Umm my apartment, there is a diner on Crest Lane. We can be there in about 15 minutes?” He hated how it came out as a question, his wolf didn’t like that he tried to tell an Alpha instead of asking. He shook he head, ignoring it. 

“I want to speak with her.” The man sounded annoyed. 

Charlie looked at the girl; she had been watching him the whole time he was on the phone. He covered the speaker of the phone and whispered as low as he could, “Please don’t tell him about me.” She looked confused but nodded. 

So, he took a breath and handed her the phone. 

“UNCLE!!!” She yelled into the phone and jumped to her feet. “IS JAY OKAY?”  Charlie had to cover his ears from how loud she was. ‘Hope my neighbors don’t wake up,’ he thought.

He left her to her phone call. He slowly picked up the dishes and headed into the kitchen, as he cleaned up the dishes he heard her talking and she seemed to calm and happy. She clearly adored the man. He wondered what it would have been like if his father had been the same kind of Alpha. Someone he could have called when in trouble or hurt, it hurt to think about. He tried to push it back. It had been a long time since he let himself play the what if game, he knew it was stupid but sometimes he just couldn’t help it. Shoving thoughts of his past to the back of his mind, where they belong, he focused back on the phone call. 

He kept his ears open in case she said anything about him, he knew he was being over paranoid but it was habit by now. They seemed to finish as the same time. She came into the kitchen as he dried the last plate and handed him the phone.

“Hello?” He asked placing the plate in the cabinet 

“I’m afraid I didn’t get your name?” The man seemed happier and it helped Charlie not freak out. 

“Charlie.” As he walked out of the kitchen he saw Emily was standing by the door ready to go. He held up his hand and went in to his room to grab his wallet and keys. 

“Thank you, Charlie,” His wolf puffed up, “You didn’t have to help her and you did. I’ll meet you at your diner in half an hour.” The man said, but as a wolf, it rang as a command.  Only an Alpha can make him go from proud to annoyed in one sentence. He hung up, knowing it would irk the Alpha that someone disrespected him. 

‘Small victories,’ he thought to himself. 

Before leaving he made sure to spay a bunch of his scent blocker on, hopefully he would come across as human and this would be over soon. 

As they walked, he looked at the young girl. She was so different then last night; she held her self-taller, looked happy and was bouncing around as if nothing bad had ever happened. It made him happy and sad, happy because she bounced back fast but sad because the world would one day ruin her innocence. 

“Emily?” He tired getting her attention as she ran ahead of him. 

“Yeah.”  She said coming back and grabbing his hand. It warmed him. How he missed being around other wolves.

“Can you keep a secret?” He asked.

“Sure.” She said looking up at him. 

“Can you not tell your uncle or anyone else that I’m a wolf or Omega like you?” He really hoped she could. 

“Why?” He sighed.

“Remember how you said Jay was worried about taking you out alone and that you were in danger because you’re an omega?” He asked as he pulled them both to a stop.   
He looked at her, “It dangerous for others to know about me.” 

“But uncle Zach wouldn’t hurt you.” He wanted to groan. How could he explain to her that she was safe because she got lucky and had family and an Alpha who cared about her. A pack that would keep her safe, he was a little jealous. 

“You uncle will keep you safe, but I’m not family.” He tried. 

“But you helped me.” Her eyes looked like she was about to cry, ‘shit,’ that was not what he wanted.

 “Hey, I’m not saying your uncle is going to hurt me, I’m just saying that it could be dangerous if others knew. Okay. Please.” He begged. 

“Okay.” She didn’t seem happy about it but he felt better that she agreed to stay quiet. 

The rest of the walk was uneventful, Emily just ran around excitedly until the Diner came into view, then she took his hand and walked him in. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Meeting The Pack**

As they entered the Diner, Charlie had to steady himself against the door, the smell of all of the wolves hit him, it was so strong and it was followed by the aroma of Alpha. His whole body shook, it had been so long, and his wolf longed to go up to the Alpha and take in the safe and protected feeling that an Alpha was supposed offer. Something he had never truly experienced since his 13th birthday.  

Emily let go of his hand and rushed into a man’s arms. The man was easily over 6-foot, short brown hair that was brushed back, his eyes when they locked on to Charlie where hazel. They almost looked like the wolf’s, it caused him to shudder. The man wore jeans and a dresser shirt, its sleeves rolled up. If he had been human, Charlie would have wanted him.

But this was a wolf and Alpha, so it could never happen. He forced his body to be still and pushed his wolf as far down as he could.  

He smiled at the small group and waited for the happy reunion to end.

It didn’t take long for the man, Zach to hand Emily over to a young man, who was holding her so tight it looked like she would pop. If Charlie was a gambler, he would bet that the young man was Jay. Emily looked happy and she hugged the young man back.  

“Zachary.” His head snapped up and the Alpha put his hand out to shake. The man’s whole body screamed power. From the way, he held his shoulders to the way he looked over Charlie.  

“Oh, Charlie.” He said take the man’s hand; ignore how it made him feel.

He was hoping that it would be over now, she was safe and all he had to do was walk away. But Zachary lead him to a table. And for some reason, Charlie’s brain shut down, because instead of coming up with an excuse to leave he followed the man. It was just the two over them, but the tables around them held more of the pack and Emily was running back and forth between tables talking to people.

“We thought she was gone.” The man said when he noticed Charlie watching her. Charlie felt his wolf long for this, seeing how loved she was, the way they all looked at her and how happy she was. She was safe here. Something he hadn’t had since he was child. He shoved his wolf down. There was no need to get sucked into a fantasy.

Charlie was trying to figure out how a human would handle this situation, this group of about 8 people all came to pick up this girl. Her uncle stating that they thought she was taken but no cops. Any human would be suspicious, right?

“Can I ask where you parents are? And what happened?” He hopped that came off as a worried normal person.

“Her mother is out of town, I’m babysitting.” He watched as the Alpha again looked at his niece. “Jay took her shopping yesterday and lost her in the crowd.” Charlie’s hearing picked up on the irregular heartbeat, catching the lie, “We weren’t sure if she had wondered off or someone took her. Jay called me freaking out and my friends and I have been looking all over town for her.” The man stopped when a waitress approached their table.

“Hello, what can I get you fella’s?” She sounded sweet, but her scent was gross, meaning she wasn’t a nice person.

“I’ll have the special and a large soda.” Zachary ordered and then both were looking at Charlie.

“Oh, just water, thank you.” The waitress went to walk away but the Alpha stopped her. “Hold on.”

Charlie felt like melting into the booth behind him, Zachary was staring at him, “You need to eat.” He wondered if it was the omega in him that made the Alpha want to feed him, even though he was positive the man couldn’t smell it. Maybe there was still something there that the Alpha could sense.

“I’m not hungry; Emily made breakfast this morning right before we called you.” The man’s stare was causing him to fidget in his seat.  The other man didn’t seem to like the idea but seemed to think better about pushing it.

He looked at the waitress, “I guess that will be all, thank you.” The women huffed and walked away.

Charlie was uncomfortable, the longer he sat here surrounded by this pack the more his wolf pushed at the barrier in his mind, it should be scared and trying to hide from an unknown Alpha, but instead it seemed eager to show itself, making Charlie even more nervous. His wolf had never tried to fight to show itself before. They always where on the same page, avoid the dangerous others.

He was saved from having to worry about it when his phone started blaring, Lee Brice’s Drinking Class.

“Shit,” He said as he frantically patted his pockets until he found his phone.

He answered, “You’re late!” his boss’s voice screeched out of the speakers.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” Charlie looked up and saw all the shifters in the pack staring at him, he gulped. “My friend needed me to baby sit last night, he’s just picking her up, then I’m out the door.” He lied the best he could. 

“You are one of my best employees, Charlie don’t start slacking off now,” and then the man hung up.

He looked at Zachary and then Emily, “Sorry, I have to go.” He didn’t even wait for them to respond just pushed his way out of the booth and out of the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:  Protecting Pack**

He watched as the human ran out of the diner. He was intrigued. He wasn’t sure what he had expected when the man walked in with Emily, but this wasn’t it.

He had been surprised that it was a human. He would have expected a human to call the police when they found a child hurt and lost, instead it seemed the man took her home and called her family. Something that should have bothered both Zach and his wolf, a human alone with his niece in his house, instead he was grateful.

He had wanted to get to know the man, but was interrupted by a loud obnoxious man calling and yelling at Charlie. Something that cause his wolf to growl, he had barley contented the sound.  He even felt his pack, bristle at the man yelling at the human who had rescued Emily. It seemed the young man would have a few friends after this.

What had truly surprised him was the lie, when the younger man told his boss that he had been babysitting. It wasn’t just that this human was lying to protect them; it was that his heartbeat didn’t give it away.

Zach had never heard someone lie before that he couldn’t tell. Despite that, for a fact he knew it was a lie there was nothing in the man’s body language or heartbeat that gave it away.

He was still staring the door when Matthew joined him at his table.

“You like him.” It wasn’t a question; his friend knew him to well for that to be a question. He looked at his second, they had been friends long before Zach built his pack. There had been a time when they were more, but while Matt could and did submit to him as his Alpha, he couldn’t as a lover. They did okay for a while but with no way to balance out Matt’s need to be in control as well as his want to submit, they ended their relationship. It had hurt them both.

Matt had pulled away from their friendship and Zach’s wolf fought against him constantly. It had demanded that Matt was his and that they should have claimed him instead of letting him go. As the years passed, his wolf settled and they rebuilt their friendship. Most of tension between them had faded, not entirely but enough for them to talk about the possibility of one of them dating or mating. Still the idea of wanting someone else caused his wolf to whimper.   

“I could like him.” He said sighing looking back out the window, ‘If the man hadn’t seemed to be in a hurry to get away from them,’ he thought.

“Do you think he knows?” Matt asked. That caught his attention. Looking back at Matt, he let his mind work over the possibility that the reason the young man hadn’t called the cops and seemed to be in a hurry to leave was because he knew what they were.

“That would make sense.” He let his eyes wonder to Emily. She was sitting on Ty’s lab, talking to Jay. She seemed happy and he knew he would have to talk to her about everything that happened. But he wanted to wait until they were home and he could do it in private. While he hadn’t gotten a bad vibe off the human, he still had to make sure.

“So, a human in the know or something supernatural that we just can’t smell?” Matt asked.

Zach sighed and looked at his friend. The man should have been feline shifter instead of a wolf. His curiosity was always annoying and when they were young landed them in more than enough trouble.

“Does it matter?” he replied as the waitress brought his food. Once his plate was set on the table, and she walked away, he looked back at Matt, “He helped her.”

He didn’t like using his rank against his friend but he was hoping the dismissal of topic would be enough to get his friend to leave the man alone.

His friend glared at him, “It could matter Zach, we couldn’t smell him. And whatever hides his scent hid hers as well. As of right now he is a friend but what if some day that changes?” Zach growled at the other wolf.

He knew it was Matt’s job to think about any possible threats, but something about the idea of Charlie becoming a threat didn’t sit well with him. The man had done nothing to deserve suspicion. He looked at his pack, most were lost in their own conversations or at least pretending they couldn’t hear them, he sighed.

This was his to protect.

“Fine, we keep an eye on him.” Matt nodded.

“But Matthew,” his tone deepened, “he is a friend until his not. Remember that.”  His second lowered his head and showed his neck, a sign that he was submitting to his Alpha. It made Zach want to cuff his friend on the back of the head. But he understood the reason; it was more of a show to the pack, so they wouldn’t do anything stupid later.

He waved his friend off, and the man quickly left the diner, probably to follow Charlie.

With his second off chasing down Charlie, Matt decided it was time to take Emily home and have a private conversation with her. 

He was glad that with whatever had happened the night before she seemed okay. She was running around the diner, talking animatedly and picking on the few pack members that followed him here. She seemed to be alright and that was probably the only thing keeping his wolf from freaking out.

“Em’s time to go,” his niece looked up. She seemed ready to argue but she took in his stance and yielded.  She quickly said her goodbyes and joined him at the door.  

The drive back to his house was enlightening.

 Emily jumped into the passenger seat of his truck and started fiddling with his radio.

“I like Charlie.” She said once he has the car started and moving, he looked over at her and raised his eyebrow, encouraging her to tell him why.

She rolled her eyes, “He was super nice and stayed up all night even though he was tired. He…” She paused, as if trying to find the right words, “He made me feel safe, like the pack would, and he found me dry cloths and made me a sandwich.” She glanced over at him, “He even made sure my clothes were clean, so I could be comfortable in my own stuff.” Then she smiled, “and you should have seen his face when I made breakfast,” She started laughing, “It was like he had never seen food before.” She turned in her seat, looking at him.

He gave a disapproving look and she rearranged herself, so she was sitting correctly.

“I think he’s lonely.” Her smile disappearing. “There weren’t any other scents in his home. And he seemed really surprised when I made food for him.”

Zach looked over at her, it would be hard to explain to her that humans weren’t like them. Among pack it was normal to cook for others, to care for them, to invade space and share scents. Her cooking for the human was her way of saying thank you. It was important to wolves.

To her, seeing Charlie alone and uncared for was not just sad it was confusing. As a wolf and an omega, she wanted to see him cared for. She didn’t understand why there weren’t others around to care for him.

“Sweetheart, he’s human, some of them don’t like other’s in their homes, and maybe he was just surprised that the young girl he found and took home could cook.” He tried making it sound like a joke. He wanted her happy mood back. He hadn’t seeing her upset.

She let out a huff, “He’s not…” Then slammed her mouth shut.

“He’s not what?” Zach asked.

She hesitated, “He wasn’t surprised I could cook,” She gave a small smile, “It was the food. He ate it so fast and then looked happy.” Then she was back to playing with his radio.

He knew that wasn’t what she was going to say, but he didn’t feel like pressuring her for more information. It seemed she had taking a liking to the younger man and forcing her to tell his secrets would only make his niece angry at him. So, for now he would let it go.

As he pulled in front of his house, he sighed, now for the tough questions.

“Can you tell me what happened?” He asked getting out of the truck; she was walking beside him watching her feet as she walked.

“I didn’t realize I know mom sent me here, because she was worried about what grandpa would do when he found out I presented. But I didn’t get it. I’m sorry, I thought she just didn’t want me at home because I got in trouble at school.” She had tears in her eyes, as they both sat on the porch steps.

“Jay told me we should wait, that it wasn’t safe. I didn’t believe him. Not until the other wolves started following us.” She moved closer to lean into him. He felt anger at his sister for not talking more about omegas to her own daughter. No wonder she had been so moody since she got here. The kid thought she was in trouble, she didn’t understand that she was her for her protection.

“Most of them chased after Jay when he took my jacket but one found me.”  He wrapped his arm tighter around her, reminding her he was there and that she was safe, “He kept talking about how his alpha would be pleased that he was bring him an omega, and how it would be great for him and his pack. “

She took a breath, “When he tried grabbing me I kicked him, hard,” She gave a little blush and Zach knew where she had kicked the rouge, “He made a sound and some people heard him, so they all came running over to see if he was okay, I took off and hid. Charlie found me after that.”

“I’m glad he did.” Zach hugged her. He was relieved that nothing horrible had happened, and that she got away.

“Let’s go inside, I have somethings to do.”  He watched as she jumped away from him and bounced into the house. He chuckled, kids, they can go from sad to happy so fast.  By the time, he followed her into the living room, she already had the TV on and had forgotten he exists.

He shook his head and headed into his office, he needed to think about what to do about her, and the he need a way to stop the rogue wolves.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted three more because publishing my other book is taking longer then i planned. So, I havent got to get the process going on this one.

**Chapter 6: Fight**

He huffed as he walked out of the building he worked in and noticed it was pouring rain out. As a wolf, he shouldn’t have to worry about getting sick, and normally it would be a problem, but he hadn’t been eating as much as he should have, nor did he have a pack to help his body heal if it was needed. So, seeing the rain, added to his already foul mood. He had pulled double shifts three times in the last week, trying to earn as much extra money as possible in case he had to leave, without much of a warning.

He wasn’t sure it was necessary; Emily’s pack hadn’t made any move to show their interest in him and he hadn’t seen any wolves hanging around. So, he was pretty sure they bought his human act, but he hadn’t survived this long by being paranoid and he wasn’t going to stop now.

He pulled his jacked closed and wrapped his arms close to his chest, hoping to protect himself as much as he could from both the rain and the cold. Then he stepped out from the protection of the building and into the ice-cold rain.

Normally, he would walk at a decent pace and let himself unwind after work. The walking was good for his wolf, not as good like shifting and running, but enough to keep his wolf from forcefully taking over and exposing them. But tonight, he quickened his pace and tried to get to the small bus stop as fast as he could.

He was about a block away from his work when the first sensation of being watched hit him. He stopped walking and looked around. He ignored passing cars and tried to see if anyone was close enough to upset his wolf or if anyone was looking in his directions. But he didn’t see anyone, so he started walking again.

As he walked to feeling grew stronger, causing him to keep looking over his shoulder, but no matter how many times he looked he never saw anyone. The paranoid feeling was causing his wolf to pace in the back of his mind and he could feel an itch across his skin as the wolf tried to get him to shift to their safer form.

Swallowing a growl at the growing frustration, he tried to hurry to the bus stop. Maybe it was the focus he had on looking behind him or the heavy rain that caused him to miss the sound of someone moving in a hidden alley, but just as he was walking pass a hand reached out and took a hold of his arm and dragged him into the darkened area.

He yelped and the feel of the pull and tried to rip his arm free, but whoever was holding him, matched him in strength and kept pulling. Once they were both in the ally the person let go and the shoved him against a hard brick wall.

“What the...” He shouted, only to have the person in front him slam their fist into his stomach. He doubled over from the pain and tried to suck in air. But the first punch was followed but a second to the side of his head.

The second punch caused his head to rock to the side and sent a wave of pain through his skull. He tried to bring up his arm to block any more hits to the head but his arm was grabbed by the wrist and pulled back.

The way his arm was pulled caused him to stumble back, and he again tried to free his arm by pulling it, but the person didn’t let go. So, he took his other arm and started trying to pull the hand away from him. But just has his hand met the skin of the man’s arm, another hand grabbed his free arm and retched it back. And then both of his arms where pulled up at a painful angle and slammed into the wall behind him.

He looked around and noticed that he was surrounded but four men. Two where holding his arms against the wall while the other two stood in front of him.

“What the….” He tried again to shout out but again he was punched in the stomach. Only the arms holding him against the wall kept him from covering his stomach as the pain rushed through him.

He raised his head and glared at the man in front of him.

The man smiled and moved closer, as the man moved in the smell of wolf filled Charlie’s nose and panic flared inside him. No wonder they were so strong, the four strangers where wolves and they didn’t carry the same sent as Emily, which left him with a feeling of dread. Because that means these were the rouges, and that meant he was in for a world of hurt or worse, if they figured out what he was.

The man reached out and took his hair jerking his head back, exposing his neck. To a wolf it was a bad position to be in. The neck was a vulnerable spot.  Showing your neck was an act of submission, normally one giving to one’s pack or someone they trusted. The only time any enemy show your neck, was if you were surrendering to them or if they were going in for the kill.

The wolf in Charlie rebelled at the position but he pushed it down. Because despite what this meant to the wolves, to a human it was just one man trying to get his attention and maybe prove he was in control.

“You interfered the other night in something and it cost me.” The man growled and forced his head back farther. The sting of it caused Charlie’s eyes to tears, and he bit his lip to stop the growl that was already in his throat.

“What?” He asked playing dumb; It seemed to make the man angrier, because his question was answered with another punch. This one hit him in the right side of the face and caused his head to slam back against the wall.

His vision blurred and he had to force himself to keep his eyes open and his legs under him.

“THE GIRL!” the man shouted in his face. The man again took a hold of his hair and Charlie let out a pained cry from pain from his head.

“I promised her to someone and that was before I got a whiff of her.” The man snarled and shoved Charlie’s head away. He tried to keep himself upright, but the hits to the head where causing him to get dizzy and a nauseous feeling was already started to grow in his stomach.

“I’m sorry.” He gasped out. He saw the man’s hand flying for his face and tried to pulled it out of the way. It caused the smack that had been headed for his face to barely hit just across his nose. Even though he didn’t get the full it, it was still strong enough to make him yelp.

“You’re sorry.” The man’s voice got quieter or maybe Charlie was just having a harder time hearing it over the pounding in his ears.

“You’re sorry.” The man said it again, and this time he took Charlie by the chin and forced his face up until their eyes met.

Another show of dominance from the man, this time Charlie’s felt his wolf lower its ears and growl softly. It was cornered and afraid but it wasn’t backing down.

“You see, I don’t care if you are sorry. You prevented me from pleasing my Alpha.” Charlie’s stomach dropped with the word Alpha. Wolves don’t expose themselves to humans. “And he was very angry when I told him some pathetic human got to her before we did.” The man growled and his hand tightened on Charlies chin. Charlie could already feel it starting to bruise. “But it’s okay.” The man smiled.

“See one of my guys recognized you from down at one of the warehouses. And we were able to follow you.” The man gave his hand a shake and Charlie’s vision exploded with black dots and his head bounced from side to side.

“Unfortunately, you got her back to her pack before we could get her from you.” Charlie barley heard the man’s words, they seemed farther away, he should have and he tried to focus on them, but there was a heavy feeling in his head and it made it hard. As the blackness around his eyes grew, Charlie was aware the man was still talking, but the words didn’t register. He had just felt himself start to be swallowed by the dark when another bile raising punch to the stomach brought the world back into focus.

“Are you listening to me!” The man shouted. Charlie had a small thought, that the man had anger issues before another fist to the face cause him to fall sideways. To his surprise to the two men holding him let go and he crumbled to the ground.

He groaned and tried to catch himself, but his legs had turned to jelly and his hand were barely fast enough to stop his face from slamming into the wet ground.

His arms only held him for a second before a swift kick to the ribs caused him to fall onto his side.

“Fucking human.” One of the other wolves growled as he was kicked again. He lost count of the number of kicks as the three other wolves took turns.

It felt like forever before they stopped and the leader, took him by his hair and pulled him up off the ground. His legs wouldn’t hold him and gave out and he felt hair rip from his scalp as the man’s hand was the only thing keeping him off the ground.

The man was smiling, “You lead us right to them. They went to meet you and we were able to follow them right to their precious pack home. And tonight, while they all go and take their run we are going to attack the house.” Charlie cringed and tried to call out put his voice was stuck in his throat.

“We will of course have to kill anyone left behind to guard it, but we will get the girl and maybe a few others depending on what they leave behind.” The man again shook Charlie by his hair. This time when the wave of pain and dizziness washed over him, Charlie had no hope of stopping himself from vomiting all over the man in front of him.

The wolf was quick to throw him to the ground as he shouted out and tried to dodge the mess headed for him. He didn’t see if any of it hit the man, but judge from the laughs from the man’s complains and the cursing going on around him, he was pretty sure he had.

A part of him was a little satisfied that he had gotten a little revenge against the bastard. His satisfaction was short lived as a foot slammed into his face. It was the last thing he saw or felt before his mind and body gave out and he fell unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Beaten**

 

It was the soft drop, drop, drop of the rain on his cheek that woke him. Then it was the flash of pain down his back when he tried to move. He was confused at first, where he was and why he was in so much pain. But when he put his hand out and tried to push off the freezing cold, wet ground he remembered the alley, and the wolves jumping him.

 

He groaned and opened his eyes. His left eye opened easily, but his right seemed to have forgotten how it worked. He was light headed and weak, but there was feeling of urgency, that pushed him to pull his wolf forward and let it give him some strength. It wasn’t much, probably due to that fact he was already starting to heal some of the damage done to his chest and ribs.

 

He used his hands to drag himself along the ground, distantly aware of them getting number as he moved. He pulled himself along until he felt the wall, then he used it to push him into a seated position. He cried out as he sat up. Then he started coughing, which turned into gasping as he fought to breathe. 

 

The taste of copper and blood filled his mouth and he had to spit it out. He sucked in a painful breath and flinched as he ran one of his hands down his chest to his ribs checking the damage. It worse than he had thought, he brushed his hand over something sticking out of his skin and then he flinched again when one became two. He sunk his teeth into his lip to stop him from crying out again. Taking in another difficult breath, he wondered about his lungs.  _ Weren’t they close enough to his ribs to be messed up as well?   _ He took his hand away from the broken ribs. Praying that his wolf had enough strength to heal everything that was damaged. 

 

He had just rested his pounding head against the wall and closed his eye, when he remembered what had been so important.

 

_ “The pack!” _ His mind shouted.

 

He jerked and opened his eye again. He ignored the pain that coursed through him as he searched his pockets for his phone. Once his fingers hit plastic he let out a silent prayer to whatever gods there were to let it work and that he still had the Alpha’s phone number.

 

The screen was cracked all to hell, but when he hit the button on the side it lit up. His hands were so numb that holding on to the phone was difficult and trying to get his fingers to scroll through his recent calls was frustrating. They just didn’t want to cooperate and it took multiple tries to get the names to scroll across the screen.

 

Then he finally found the number and pressed down, the screen gave an unhappy creak and he prayed his phone held together long enough to make the call.

 

Once the call connected and he heard it start to ring, he again let himself fall back and rest against the wall. His sore body and exhaustion making it hard to remain upright on his own.

 

“Hello?” The Alpha’s voice rang through his ears and he winced and moved the phone away from his ear.

 

“Zach?” He asked, setting his body off into another coughing fit.

 

“Charlie?” The other wolf asked sounding concerned. He tried to answer but the coughing was making hard to breath and even harder to talk.

 

“Charlie? Where are you? Tell me, what happened!” The man demanded. The tone caused Charlie to shiver from the power behind it; even if the Alpha didn’t realize what he had done, it was enough for Charlie’s wolf to take control and stop the coughing.

 

“Trouble.” Charlie choked out, “Men….” He hissed in pain, “Your house. Tonight.” His vision started to darken again, his body giving in to his injuries. “Emily.” He forced out. 

 

As his phone slipped out from his useless fingers he could hear Zach shouting. Somewhere in his fading consciousness he prayed the man understood and that he was ordering his pack to get ready for a fight.

 

For the second time that night, the rain brought him back to the land of consciousness. 

 

However, this time there was a sound. Something just off in the distance, but still close enough for his ears to pick up. He opened his eye; trying to find the source of the sound but his vision was blurry and he couldn’t make out much but the dark fuzzy alley around him. Then he heard a man’s voice and he tried to cry out to get attention but all his body did was shake. The amount of energy used to try to heal by itself, and the amount of damage caused by the beating had left him weak. Letting the freezing cold rain water seep into his clothes and body, leaving him shivering uncontrollably. He didn’t even have the strength to kick out his legs or bang his hands on the ground.

He wanted to scream, the anger, the pain, and the frustration of this whole situation. Mostly he just wanted to make enough noise to be heard.

 

“Charlie!” Someone shouted nearby.

 

He gasped, grateful that someone was looking for him. He heard his name a few more times before he finally had enough strength to let out a cry. It wasn’t too loud but judging from the pounding of feet and shouts headed his way. Someone had heard him and they were coming to help.

 

There was a moment of overwhelming relief that washed over him. He was going to be okay.

 

That feeling lasted until the smell of wolf hit him, he jerked to the side and focused his good eye on the people coming at him. He heard one of them gasp when they finally saw him.

 

A face he didn’t recognized reached for him and the wall that kept his wolf safely hidden away shattered. He closed his eyes and tried frantically to pull his wolf back, but it was stronger than him, and just as he felt the man’s hand was about to touch his face, his wolf surged forward and opened his eyes.

 

The men gasped and as one took a step back.

 

Somewhere in the back of his mind, half buried under the control of his wolf, Charlie knew his eyes where all wolf and that his secret was out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New note (6/23/19): Does anyone on here draw? or know someone that does? I'm trying to find someone to help me with a fantasy map for an epic story I'm working on but as I'm currently broke, its damn near impossible. I was hoping to find someone who does it for fun and wouldn't mind helping me out. Please email me if you or someone else might be interested.

**Chapter 8: Orders**

 

Matt’s day had been long; he had been fighting with his mother over the phone. She was starting to pressure him more and more to take a mate and give her grandchildren. She even told him she didn’t care if he chose a human, that she just wanted to see him happily mated with little pups running around. He wanted to tell her he had found love once years ago, but his dominance had ruined it. His wolf had wanted them to be mates but they both were too dominant and it caused problems. Instead he just listened to her lecture him.

 

It was an old speech that she gave him a few times every year. Unfortunately, every year she got a little more desperate. Even giving out his number to female wolves she thought would be perfect for him, despite that fact that he told her when he was 18 that he favored men. She just told him that was because he hadn’t met the right women yet.

 

When he was younger, he found it mildly annoying but amusing. Him and Zach would laugh about how funny it was that she was so blind about him and what he wanted, but as the years dragged on and he was approaching 30 the amusement faded.

 

Normally, about now he would have called Zach to complain about his mother, but he had held off. Years ago, he would have made the call the moment she hung up on him, but they had hit a patch where he wasn’t sure their friendship would survive. He had thought it was all behind them but lately something was off. Matt couldn’t peg it down, but whatever it was it was causing a small rift between him and his Alpha, his friend. 

 

Another rift between them and he feared he would lose more than just his friend because of it.

 

“You okay?” Ben asked from the passenger seat.

 

“Huh?” was his response.

 

“You have been glaring at the road, and if you hold on to that steering wheel any tighter you’re going to break it.” Ben said, pointing at Matt’s hands. To his surprise, when he looked down his knuckles were white from the force he was holding onto the steering wheel. He loosened his grip.

 

“Yeah, just one of those days.”

 

Ben nodded like he understood, but Brandon in the back seat snorted, causing Matt to glare at him through the rearview mirror. The man winced under the glare and looked down. Matt allowed the small show of submission, looking away from the mirror and back at the road.

 

The car fell into an uncomfortable silence that Matt knew was his fault. He was agitated and his wolf was pushing to show itself. He knew the other two could feel it and were trying to not draw more attention to themselves.

 

He huffed and rolled down his window. The rain had thankfully slowed down enough that he wasn’t worried about his seat. And letting in the fresh air would clear out his smell from the car, and that would help the other two to relax.

 

They were about 5 minutes away from the pack house when Ben’s phone rang. The younger wolf was quick to grab it and answer.

 

“Alpha.” Ben said.

 

Matt tensed. He couldn’t think of any reason why Zach would be calling them. And it caused both him and his wolf to worry. He strained his ears to pick up both ends of the conversation. Not that it was needed.

 

“Ben, put your phone on speaker, I need to speak with Matthew.” His stomach rolled at the way his Alpha said his name. Zach only ever called him Matthew when something was wrong.

 

Ben did as he was told and then he placed his phone in his hand and put in close to Matt. Who was reminding himself to pay attention to the road.

 

“Matt, I need you to track down Charlie.” He hadn’t noticed before but Zach was angry and worried, Matt could hear it in his tone, but also through the way their pack bond hummed in his mind.

 

“What happened?” Matt asked as he switched lanes and headed for the shoulder to pull over the car.

 

He heard his Alpha growl, and was grateful he had pulled over because it sent a spark through him and he had to fight to keep from shifting. He saw Ben tense next to him and heard Brandon whimper and knew that other two felt it as well.

 

“I’m not sure. He just called me. He was hurt and could hardly speak. But from what I was able to make out, the rogues attacked him. Probably trying to learn about Emily. He said the house was in danger and then I heard his phone clank on the ground.” There was another growl. “I tried shouting at him, but I couldn’t get another response.”

 

“You want us to find him?” Ben asked.

 

“Yes. You should be able to track his phone.” Zach sounded worried but also like he was trying to hide it. Matt’s wolf growled.

 

“You said, he said the house was going to be attacked?” He huffed and started his car again.

 

“I called the pack they are headed here.”

 

“We are on our way.” Matt said and he pulled his car off the shoulder.

 

“Matthew.” His whole body went tense as his Alpha’s voice wrapped around him. He knew what was about to happen, he could feel his wolf ready to obey and he was pissed.

 

“Zach, don’t…” He pleaded, but knowing that his Alpha’s mind was set.

 

“Go find Charlie.” The order washed over him, and he knew no matter how desperately he wanted to go fight with his pack, he would obey his Alpha and go look for the human.

He growled and hung up his phone.  

 

He turned his car around and head back towards the town, as Ben called a pack member that works for the local cops. He drove slowly into town waiting for the right information on where to head.

 

He didn’t even listen in on the conversation as Ben talked. He was still too angry that his Alpha had ordered him away for the fight.

 

“He has a trace.” Ben finally said and read off an address not too far away from where they were.

 

Matt just nodded and headed towards it. As he drove the rain started to pick up again and he had to roll his window up. When he pulled in front of a large empty building he looked over at Ben and raised his brow. This is where Charlie’s phone was?

 

“This is the right address.” Ben said as he started getting out of the car, followed by Brandon. Matt slammed his hand against the steering wheel and followed the others.

As he looked around he tried to use his nose to find a scent, but the rain and the fact that he didn’t even know what Charlie’s true scent was caused problems. He sighed and shouted out the man’s name.

 

He was walking towards the entrance of the building, when a fearful shout of Charlie’s name left Brandon’s mouth. He raced to his pack mate, and when he was close enough he caught the heavy scent of blood and wolves.

 

All three of them rushed towards the alley. As they entered he heard the pained groan and followed it.

 

He was surprised when he saw Charlie; the man was in bad shape. Half his face was hidden behind a number of bruises; and there was blood covering his shirt and jacket. 

 

The man in front of him was barely conscious and was breathing in short gasps.

Matt saw Ben reach down to check on him.

 

Just as Ben was about to touch him, Matt heard a low growl. At first, he couldn’t place who had done it, but then Charlie’s eyes opened and glowed with the yellow hue that belonged to a wolf.

 

Matt grabbed Ben and took a step back,subconsciously moving with them. 

Charlie let out another growl, and tried to back away from them. Only to be trapped because of his injuries and the wall.

 

‘Shit.’ Matt thought, ‘this just got a hell of a lot more complicated.’ A hurt wolf wouldn’t react well to unknown wolves surrounding it, especially after being attacked.

 

“Charlie,” He whispered, “Do you remember me?” he pushed Ben and Brandon away. They hadn’t been at the diner the day Charlie returned Emily. Their presence would only agitate the wolf more.

 

He didn’t get a response other than another low growl.

 

“Fuck.” He muttered.

 

Charlie wasn’t there, not really, the wolf part of him was in control. Matt looked the man over again and noticed that his shirt had ridden up on his chest and just visible where two ribs sticking out. Matt could also make out blood running down the man’s neck, probably from his head. He understood then, the wolf was in control because Charlie was too weak. Judging from the injuries, the wolves that had done this had left him for dead, thinking like them that Charlie was human.

 

So, he had to forget about talking to Charlie and trying to calm him down. He was going to have to get the wolf to submit.

 

It wasn’t an ideal choice; a wolf would fight submitting to an unknown wolf. It didn’t matter how hurt it was, submitting gave another wolf control, and that went against their nature. Wolves only submitted to their Alpha’s or packmates.

 

“Try not to hurt him.” Ben whispered from behind him. Matt felt himself look over his shoulder and gave the younger wolf a ‘No Shit,’ look.

 

Ben huffed, “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant he is in really bad shape and I’m not sure he can take anymore.” Matt nodded.

 

He heard both Ben and Brandon back away from him, giving him space that hopefully he wouldn’t need. He was hoping that Charlie would be too weak to put up much of a fight and he would get the wolf to submit quickly. With them far enough away, he let his own eyes change.

 

The reaction was instant, Charlie growled and tried to push to his feet. There was a yelp as the man stumbled and Matt moved in trying to catch him.  He wrapped an arm around Charlie’s chest.

 

Charlie tried to slash at him with claws that had only just come out. The slash was weak, but well aimed and Matt had to let go to dodge the claws. The release of his hold caused Charlie to fall back to the ground. Matt heard the other man whine from the impact. And he hoped that that would be the end of the fight. But as he moved closer there was a growl and Charlie turned and lunged at him.

 

He was fast to back step, causing Charlie to fall short of his attack, and again he fell to the ground. This time the impact caused the wolf to yelp. Matt felt sympathy for the other wolf. He knew Charlie was scared and hurt, he also knew that all the other man’s wolf knew was that he had been attacked by wolves, and now there were others here trying to touch him. It didn’t understand that Matt was trying to help him. So, it fought.

 

This time he moved slower, keeping his steps silent. He could hear Charlie still growling but they were quieter, more reserved. The sound of a wolf that knew it was going to lose. He wanted to reach out and comfort the hurt man, but he knew now wasn’t the time. He also knew that Charlie wasn’t done yet, the wolf was just waiting for its best chance.

 

So, Matt gave it to him. He waited until he stood just off to Charlie's  left side. The same side he had seen the broken ribs earlier, it was the weaker side and would be harder for Charlie to swing around or to use that arm to attack.

 

When he felt he was in the right spot, he let his foot fall heavy. As predicted Charlie tried to lunge off the ground to take a swipe at him, but the sudden pulling on that side of the body proved too much. Charlie cried out and ended up stumbling forward. Matt rushed to catch him when their bodies collided. He regrettably raised his hand, with his own claws out, to take hold of the back of Charlie's neck. He let his claws dig into the soft flesh of the neck and gave a squeeze. Charlie reacted, trying to pull free, Matt squeezed harder and with a whimper Charlie’s body went lax.

 

He let out a relieved breath when he felt Charlie finally submit. He used one arm to keep Charlie pulled close, then reached down with his other and used it to pick Charlie up at the knees. Once he got a good hold, he turned around and carried Charlie past Brandon and to the car. Ben was already waiting in the back seat with the heat on.

 

They carefully got Charlie into the car, only causing him to whimper once. Matt ended up with Charlie mostly in his lap. He had the younger man’s head resting on his shoulder, and his body loosely resting against him. His legs were spread, one laying across the back seat and the other hanging off, with Ben sitting in between them trying to get a look at Charlie’s injuries.

 

“You may have to hold him.” Ben said as he ran his fingers down Charlie’s ribs. He hesitated over the two broken ones and met Matt’s eyes. Matt felt himself wrap his arms around Charlie, easily holding the wolf down. He nodded and watched as Ben pushed the two offending ribs back into the body.

 

Charlie screamed and tried to pull himself free, but between Matt’s arms and Ben’s hands, he didn’t move far.

 

“Shhhh,” He whispered in Charlie’s ear, “It’s okay, he is just trying to help.” His words had little effect, but exhaustion and pain caused Charlie to stop fighting, and after a couple minutes Matt was sure the wolf had passed out.

 

Then Ben was back to work. He carefully wrapped a bandage from a first aid kit they kept in the car around the ribs. Matt watched as Ben got lost in checking over the wolf. 

 

Softly touching here and there, trying to feel the extent of the damage.

 

Once Ben was finished with the body, they pushed Charlie into a seated position causing the man to growl at them; it wasn’t very threatening given he didn’t even open his eyes to do it. Then Ben looked over Charlie’s head. Matt could see some caked-on blood but most of it looked dry. He watched Ben run his fingers along Charlie’s scalp, and after a couple minutes he sighed and helped Matt lay him back down.

Ben looked at him with a frown.

 

“What is it?” He whispered, not wanting to wake up the hurt wolf.

 

“They did a number on him; his head is healing but you can feel where it had cracked open. Then there is the damage to his face, his right eye is swollen and I can’t get a very good look at it. So, I don’t know how messed up it is. I think they broke his cheek bone though. His chest has me really worried and the amount of bruising isn’t good. Besides his two ribs, I think he might have a couple more cracked and internal bleeding. If he was human, I think he would be dead.” Ben sighed.

 

“Matt, he’s not healing right. I mean this much damage would put any wolf down but he should already be healing, especially his head and chest. I shouldn’t be able to find the crack in his skull or the ribs.” Matt had wondered about that too.

 

Brandon cleared his throat from the front seat causing both of them to look at him. The other wolf met Matt’s eyes in the mirror, “It makes sense if he is denying his wolf.” Matt felt a growl vibrate through his chest. “I mean you said that when you guys met him you thought he was human. Right? So, if you couldn’t tell he was a wolf maybe it was because he is either hiding it or trying to shove it down and deny it.” Brandon looked away from them.

Matt tightened his hold on the man in his arms and tried not to let his growling wake the man.

 

“Do you think that’s the problem?” He asked Ben. His pack mate was quiet for a moment.

Then he seemed to make a decision, “It could be. If he isn’t eating right or letting his wolf out then it would weaken it. Not to mention the energy it takes to fight to always remain in control. So, they would both be weak. That would slow down his healing.”  There was an anger in Ben’s eyes as he spoke.

 

One that Matt understood. Denying one’s wolf was horrible. Their wolves were a part of them, denying one was like denying a part of yourself. Matt had never met someone who had denied their wolf before. The connection was just too strong. He looked down at the man in his arms and wondered what would push someone to hurt themselves in that way.

 

“Do you think he has a pack?” Brandon asked from the front seat.


End file.
